Yesterday was a long day. I was at school at 7AM for our field trip to Leidsche Rijn, a city adjacent to
Utrecht. Field trip sounds so junior high, excursion is a SAT word. But gone are the days of the pink card that needs to be signed by every teacher at least one week in advance (Jones, that was for you). We drove for an hour to this new town that was supposed to be designed as a sustainable city. It wasn't. We received a lecture from the head of the Department of Water Management, followed by a Q&A session. He seemed to imply that the city was self sustainable in its water use, but in actuality it was just that the canals recirculated their own water. Each question that the class asked we learned more about how typical the design was. Drinking water was piped in from
Utrecht, wastewater was piped back, and there were no water reuse or conservation measures. The only thing even relatively new was the fact that they varied their canal levels by up to one meter (like a standard detention pond).
Actually, during the field trip we got to see the “stabilized fog” that another professor had been talking about in a previous class.
Except the “g” in Dutch is pronounced like a throaty “ch” so when the Dutch say “fog” it sounds like an inappropriate word in English.
So the highlight of the excursion was Orgilt (Mongolia), Helga (Honduras), Loreen (The Philippines) and I giggling like school children while talking about the “fog” (and the “sheet” flow, where the “ee” sounds like an “i”).
Anyway, we then spent an hour (in the cold) roaming the streets of the development before returning to Delft for lunch. We were supposed to eat in Utrecht, but that fell through. I would have liked to see the city, but it's alright that we didn't because I was able to go to the market in Delft were I got some eggs and potatoes and some beautiful roses.
After lunch was a discussion about what we learned from the field trip (even the professor was a bit disappointed) followed by a presentation from a gentleman who works for Waternet, the company that manages the water in Amsterdam. That was cool. We learned about the pumping stations and the locks for the canals and how they regulate the levels. But the biggest epiphany was the fact that The Netherlands is just one large cut and fill equation. The Dutch reclaim land from the sea and lakes, but also remove land in some areas to make new lakes and canals. It's like they are constantly redecorating their country, moving water like people rearrange pictures.
I managed to finish my 12 hour day by attending a modern dance class. It was so much fun. I thought it was just a workshop, but the instructor (our head IT guy) said that he was coordinating a performance in June when the school celebrates its 50th anniversary. I never though of myself as a dancer, but that would be cool.
Exams are next Tuesday and Thursday, so I will be studying this weekend.
Yesterday was a long day. I was at school at 7AM for our field trip to Leidsche Rijn, a city adjacent to 
Actually, during the field trip we got to see the “stabilized fog” that another professor had been talking about in a previous class. Except the “g” in Dutch is pronounced like a throaty “ch” so when the Dutch say “fog” it sounds like an inappropriate word in English. So the highlight of the excursion was Orgilt (Mongolia), Helga (Honduras), Loreen (The Philippines) and I giggling like school children while talking about the “fog” (and the “sheet” flow, where the “ee” sounds like an “i”). 
After lunch was a discussion about what we learned from the field trip (even the professor was a bit disappointed) followed by a presentation from a gentleman who works for Waternet, the company that manages the water in 
1 comment:
Ha ha! Thanks for the shout out! In fact the pink cards were the first thing I though of when I read the post title. Good luck with the studies. Miss ya!
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